审判之日将临

主耶和华让我看见了异象,我看到一篮夏天的果子。 耶和华问我:“阿摩司,你看见什么?”我说:“我看见一篮夏天的果子。”祂说:“我以色列子民的结局[a]到了,我不会再饶恕他们。 到那日,殿里的歌声要变成哀号;尸横遍地,一片死寂。这是主耶和华说的。”

践踏贫民、灭绝穷人的人啊,
你们要听!
你们盼望朔日[b]和安息日快点过去,
你们好售卖谷物。
你们用小升斗卖粮,
用加重的砝码收银子,
用假秤骗人。
你们用银子买贫民,
以一双鞋买穷人为奴,
售卖掺了糠秕的麦子。

耶和华凭以色列的荣耀起誓:
“我决不会忘记你们的所作所为。
这片土地要因此而震动,
那里的人都要悲哀。
大地要像尼罗河一样涨起,如埃及的河流翻腾退落。”
主耶和华说:
“到那日,我要使太阳中午落下,
使白昼变为黑暗。
10 我要使你们的节期变为丧礼,
叫你们的欢歌变为哀歌。
我要使你们都腰束麻布,剃光头发;
我要使你们伤心欲绝,如丧独生子;
我要使那日成为痛苦的日子。”
11 主耶和华说:
“日子将到,我要使饥荒降在地上。
人饥饿非因无饼,干渴非因无水,
而是因为听不到耶和华的话。
12 人们从南到北,从东到西[c]
在境内四处流荡,
要寻找耶和华的话却找不到。

13 “到那日,

“美丽少女和青春少男都要因干渴而昏倒;
14 那些凭撒玛利亚、但和别示巴的神明起誓的,
都要跌倒,永不再起来。”

Footnotes

  1. 8:2 结局”希伯来文中与“夏天的果子”发音相近。
  2. 8:5 朔日”即每月初一。
  3. 8:12 从南到北,从东到西”希伯来文是“从这海到那海,从北到东”。海指西面的地中海和南面的死海。

A Basket of Ripe Fruit

This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:(A) a basket of ripe fruit. “What do you see,(B) Amos?(C)” he asked.

“A basket(D) of ripe fruit,” I answered.

Then the Lord said to me, “The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.(E)

“In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing.[a](F) Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!(G)

Hear this, you who trample the needy
    and do away with the poor(H) of the land,(I)

saying,

“When will the New Moon(J) be over
    that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath be ended
    that we may market(K) wheat?”(L)
skimping on the measure,
    boosting the price
    and cheating(M) with dishonest scales,(N)
buying the poor(O) with silver
    and the needy for a pair of sandals,
    selling even the sweepings with the wheat.(P)

The Lord has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob:(Q) “I will never forget(R) anything they have done.(S)

“Will not the land tremble(T) for this,
    and all who live in it mourn?
The whole land will rise like the Nile;
    it will be stirred up and then sink
    like the river of Egypt.(U)

“In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord,

“I will make the sun go down at noon
    and darken the earth in broad daylight.(V)
10 I will turn your religious festivals(W) into mourning
    and all your singing into weeping.(X)
I will make all of you wear sackcloth(Y)
    and shave(Z) your heads.
I will make that time like mourning for an only son(AA)
    and the end of it like a bitter day.(AB)

11 “The days are coming,”(AC) declares the Sovereign Lord,
    “when I will send a famine through the land—
not a famine of food or a thirst for water,
    but a famine(AD) of hearing the words of the Lord.(AE)
12 People will stagger from sea to sea
    and wander from north to east,
searching for the word of the Lord,
    but they will not find it.(AF)

13 “In that day

“the lovely young women and strong young men(AG)
    will faint because of thirst.(AH)
14 Those who swear by the sin of Samaria(AI)
    who say, ‘As surely as your god lives, Dan,’(AJ)
    or, ‘As surely as the god[b] of Beersheba(AK) lives’—
    they will fall,(AL) never to rise again.(AM)

Footnotes

  1. Amos 8:3 Or “the temple singers will wail
  2. Amos 8:14 Hebrew the way

Basket of Fruit and Israel’s Captivity

Thus the Lord God showed me [a vision], and behold, there was a basket of [overripe] summer fruit. And He said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The end has come for My people Israel. I will spare them no longer [for the nation is ripe for judgment]. In that day, the songs of the palace shall turn to wailing,” says the Lord God. “There will be many dead bodies; in [sacred] silence they will throw them everywhere.”

Hear this, you who trample down the needy, and do away with the poor of the land, saying,

“When will the New Moon [festival] be over
So that we may sell grain,
And the Sabbath ended so that we may open the wheat market,
Making the ephah [measure] smaller and the shekel bigger [that is, selling less for a higher price]
And to cheat by falsifying the scales,

So that we may buy the poor [as slaves] for silver [since they are unable to support themselves]
And the [a]needy for a pair of sandals,
And that we may sell the leftovers of the wheat [as if it were a good grade of grain]?”


The Lord has sworn [an oath] by the pride of Jacob,
“Surely I shall never forget [nor leave unpunished] any of their [rebellious] acts.

“Because of this [coming judgment] will the land not quake
And everyone mourn who dwells in it?
Indeed, all of it shall rise up like the Nile,
And it will be tossed around [from the impact of judgment]
And [afterward] subside again like the Nile of Egypt.

“It shall come about in that day,” says the Lord God,
“That I shall cause the sun to go down at noon,
And I shall darken the earth in broad daylight.(A)
10 
“And I shall turn your festivals and feasts into mourning
And all your songs into dirges (funeral poems to be sung);
And I shall cause sackcloth to be put on everyone’s [b]loins
And baldness on every head [shaved for mourning].
And I shall make that time like a time of mourning for an only son [who has died],
And the end of it shall be like a bitter day.

11 
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God,
“When I will send hunger over the land,
Not hunger for bread or a thirst for water,
But rather [a hunger] for hearing the words of the Lord.
12 
“People shall stagger from sea to sea [to the very ends of the earth]
And from the north even to the east;
They will roam here and there to seek the word of the Lord [longing for it as essential for life],
But they will not find it.
13 
“In that day the beautiful virgins
And [even the vigorous] young men shall faint from thirst.
14 
“Those who swear [their oaths] by the sin (guilt) of Samaria or Ashimah (a pagan goddess),
Who say, ‘By the life of your god [the golden calf], O Dan!’
And [swear], ‘By the life of the way of [idolatrous] Beersheba,’
They shall fall and not rise again.”

Footnotes

  1. Amos 8:6 See 2:6.
  2. Amos 8:10 The midsection of the body between the lower ribs and the thighs.

Vision of the Summer Fruit

Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, a basket of summer fruit. And He said, “Amos, what do you see?”

So I said, “A basket of summer fruit.”

Then the Lord said to me:

(A)“The end has come upon My people Israel;
(B)I will not pass by them anymore.
And (C)the songs of the temple
Shall be wailing in that day,”
Says the Lord God
“Many dead bodies everywhere,
(D)They shall be thrown out in silence.”

Hear this, you who [a]swallow up the needy,
And make the poor of the land fail,

Saying:

“When will the New Moon be past,
That we may sell grain?
And (E)the Sabbath,
That we may [b]trade wheat?
(F)Making the ephah small and the shekel large,
Falsifying the scales by (G)deceit,
That we may buy the poor for (H)silver,
And the needy for a pair of sandals—
Even sell the bad wheat?”

The Lord has sworn by (I)the pride of Jacob:
“Surely (J)I will never forget any of their works.
(K)Shall the land not tremble for this,
And everyone mourn who dwells in it?
All of it shall swell like [c]the River,
Heave and subside
(L)Like the River of Egypt.

“And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God,
(M)“That I will make the sun go down at noon,
And I will darken the earth in [d]broad daylight;
10 I will turn your feasts into (N)mourning,
(O)And all your songs into lamentation;
(P)I will bring sackcloth on every waist,
And baldness on every head;
I will make it like mourning for an only son,
And its end like a bitter day.

11 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God,
“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But (Q)of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea,
And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
But shall (R)not find it.

13 “In that day the fair virgins
And strong young men
Shall faint from thirst.
14 Those who (S)swear by (T)the [e]sin of Samaria,
Who say,
‘As your god lives, O Dan!’
And, ‘As the way of (U)Beersheba lives!’
They shall fall and never rise again.”

Footnotes

  1. Amos 8:4 Or trample on, Amos 2:7
  2. Amos 8:5 Lit. open
  3. Amos 8:8 The Nile; some Heb. mss., LXX, Tg., Syr., Vg. River (cf. 9:5); MT the light
  4. Amos 8:9 Lit. a day of light
  5. Amos 8:14 Or Ashima, a Syrian goddess